Graphic Designer

Career Overview

Graphic design is not just the love for art but the ability to create and communicate a visual interpretation of a piece of information. Graphic designers are the visual communicators, who work towards the specific outcome of a given message by using any visual medium, shapes, colors, fonts, on print design, websites and social media, photography or animation. Graphic design is an exciting, creative, professional field that combines computer knowledge, an artistic eye and some real passion you can put to use for any area of work. As opposed to most art based disciplines, graphic designing involves more on the technical aspect of conveying messages aesthetically. They usually have a strong knowledge of electronic media packages and are aware of tools such as Photoshop, Gimp, Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Blend or more and use such skill to develop the overall layout and production design for advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.Graphic designers work in many industries like Advertisement, Print Industry, Web designing, Exhibitions, Publishing and manufacturing. Their job is not a solo effort but collaboration with clients, art directors, advertising managers, copywriters, and other designers. With an increasingly visual and digital world, Graphic Design as a profession has evolved over the years from a niche profession to an extremely sought-after and lucrative enterprise. Every organization needs to communicate with their audience and convince people to take action�"whether it's purchasing a product or service or joining an important social cause. This is where you can picture your career as a graphic designer with your artistic bent of mind.

Salaries and Job Outlook*

Median Annual Pay

Number of Jobs

Projected Growth Rate

Graphic Designers are an integral part of establishing and maintaining successful businesses. Building a company identity and brand image starts with a great logo and expands to every aspect of the business. Hence there is a growing need for expertly crafted graphic designers to target audience in a way that is functional, attractive, and professional. With a spurt in the field of entertainment, television and video gaming, Graphic designing has become a great career choice with employment options available across different sectors.As per industry standards, a graphic designer earns an average salary of INR 2.5 lacs pa to 3.0 lacs as a fresher and with experience and seniority may expect higher compensation up to 4.5 lacs pa.

Education and Training

Degrees Required:

Bachelor of Fine Arts Graphic Design Diploma in Visual Communication

Technically anyone with graphic design skills can become a graphic designer but most graphic design firms hire students with graphic design degree or diploma. Courses in graphic designing are available across the world from different graphic design institutes and colleges and impart certifications through both campus and online.Professional graphic designers are always learning. Software such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash, and InDesign, are a must to learn in this field.

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Valued Traits & Abilities

Analytical Skills

Creativity & Innovative

Communication Skills

Teamwork Skills

Computer Skills

Career Opportunities

Earning a degree in Graphic design opens up a plethora of job opportunities in highly creative organizations like advertising agencies and industrial design firms. Some of the major industries that employ Graphic designers are Manufacturing, Publishing, Advertising, and Public relations and Specialized Design services as a part of the design team. Many choose to work independently or find freelance jobs and often set up their own consultancies. Being a creative skilled professional organizations hold a high esteem for these professionals and climbing the corporate ladder is unhindered in a short time frame.

Art Director

He is responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers and movie and television productions. He often plays a managerial role and inspires and guides the vision of the design team. They are required to understand the design elements of projects, inspire other creative workers, and keep projects on budget and on time.

Multimedia Artist and Animators

They create animation and visual effects for television, movies, video games, and other forms of media using computer programs and illustrations. They Develop storyboards that map out key scenes in animations, edit effects on the basis of feedback from directors, designers and clients.

Technical Writers

They prepare instruction manuals, journal articles, and other supporting documents like create operating instructions, how-to manuals, assembly instructions, and "frequently asked questions" pages to help technical support staff, consumers, and other users within a company or an industry. They work closely with product designers and developers and other technical staff to make products easier to use.

Desktop Publisher

Also called as publication specialists, electronic publishers, DTP operators, desktop-publishing editors, use computer software to design page layouts for newspapers, books, brochures, and other items that are printed or put online. They perform a wide range of tasks and may responsible for correcting spelling, punctuation, and grammar or for writing original content themselves.

Top Companies

Adobe India

Cactus Communications

HCL Technologies Ltd.

Pearson Education

Tata Consultancy Services, Ltd

Honeywell International Inc

Imagine! Print Solutions

Interview: Prakash Pujari - Graphic Designer

“A graphic designer usually makes hundreds of small drawings and then picks one of them.”